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BOSTON - Saying that Massachusetts' state trial courts "are already
operating on the brink" following cuts of $24.4 million to the judiciary budget
in Fiscal Year 2010, the Boston Bar Association today released a report
warning that any additional budget cuts -- such as the additional $10 million
reduction proposed by House One -- would decimate critical services for the most
disadvantaged Massachusetts residents and pose serious risks to public
safety. The report was drafted by the BBA Task Force on the FY2011
Judiciary Budget, chaired by Joan A. Lukey of Ropes & Gray.

"Our courts have reached the breaking point," said BBA President Jack Regan.
"We know the Commonwealth is in dire fiscal straits, and every branch of
government is expected to maximize efficiencies and ensure that every taxpayer
dollar is spent wisely. But in this case, management reforms and cost-saving
measures have already been maximized by the judiciary. Anything less than
maintenance funding for FY 2011 will have catastrophic, real life
consequences."

The report - based on interviews with judges and lawyers - provides these and
other examples of the adverse consequences directly attributable to budget
constraints in the Trial Court:

Several courts now have a severe shortage of court officers. In some
courts, uniformed police officers are asked to provide security during
sessions; in others, court sessions proceed without any court officer at all,
creating a significant security risk for judges, litigants, witnesses, court
staff, and the public.

The Boston Municipal Court in South Boston routinely receives more
petitions for substance abuse commitments than there are available treatment
beds. A court clinician is available only after 1:00 p.m., with the result
that afflicted individuals languish until they can be evaluated late in the
day. Beds that might have been available in the morning -- when patients
are typically discharged - - are no longer available. Because the
patients do not receive the full treatment they require, they tend to relapse
more often, creating a vicious cycle of addiction and crime.

Another Boston Municipal Court judge told of a situation in which medical
evaluations of three individuals were not completed until the end of the day,
at which point only one treatment bed was available. When the clinician
reported that all three persons should be committed, the judge was forced to
decide which one would receive the bed and which two would be sent home.

The Probate and Family Court in Middlesex County no longer has sufficient
sessions clerks to cover all courtroom sessions. As a result, all
assistant judicial case managers (AJCMs) are required to attend court
sessions, meaning that they generally are not available to assist the public
or the bar. The Boston Bar Association has received several reports of
situations in which litigants or attorneys have waited hours for an AJCM to
become available to respond to a simple query.

Attorneys working in the Superior Court have innumerable stories of
lengthy waits for rulings on dispositive motions and the scheduling of
hearings as reductions in both court staff and clerks have resulted in an
increasingly overburdened judiciary. Attorneys told of cases that
directly affected the health of their clients, including one case where a
contentious family business matter had caused a severe strain on the physical
health of the parents involved. In another case, a victim of an alleged
assault and battery who suffers from severe facial injuries had hearings on
dispositive motions postponed for several months due to personnel
cutbacks. The individual’s health has been prejudiced due to the
unavoidable delay.

Of the over 600 employees who have left the Trial Court since July 2008,
many did so pursuant to early retirement incentives. The consequence has
been the loss of some of the most experienced court personnel, none of whom
can be replaced due to the hiring freeze.

The report also notes that cases in which antipsychotic medications are
required will be delayed due to a lack of court-appointed personnel to monitor
the treatment (so-called "Rogers monitors"). Cases requiring civil
commitment of persons with mental health issues will likewise be delayed due to
the reduced number of guardians ad litem. Such reductions can pose severe
health and safety threats.

The Boston Bar Association traces its origins to meetings convened by John Adams, who provided pro bono representation to the British soldiers prosecuted for the Boston Massacre and went on to become the nation’s second president. Its mission is to advance the highest standards of excellence for the legal profession, facilitate access to justice, serve the community at large and promote diversity and inclusion.